WKU FOOTBALL | Tide Rolled Over Tops

WKU gave the #1 team in the country their best, but ultimately fell short as the Tide rolled on, topping the Tops 38-10 in a sold out Bryant-Denny Stadium.

The Hilltoppers had the first drive of the game; a 3-and-out.

The next drive the Tops held Bama to a field goal attempt, which they missed. 9:10 left in the first and it was Alabama on the board first with a field goal.

WKU quickly answered, 8:03 on the clock Ryan Nuss kicks a 25-yard field goal to tie it up 3-3.

Alabama began to pull away in the first quarter- Ronnie Harrison intercepted a pass with 4:05 left in the first quarter and returned it 6 yards. That led to a scoring Alabama drive- Jalen Hurts to Calvin Ridley with the extra point attempt good; 10-3, Alabama.

A pick 6 by Eddie Jackson widens the gap even more; 17-3, Tide, 8:59 until the half. That was the score as the two teams headed into the locker room at halftime. WKU forced Alabama to punt 3 times in the first half.

Out of the locker room, Alabama drove it down the field 48 yards for another score, this time Hurts to ArDarius Stewart for an 8 yard TD. Alabama-24, WKU- 3 with 3:48 left in the third quarter.

13:14 left in the game- Bama fires again, Bo Scarbough on the ground for a 2-yard touchdown; Alabama up 31-3.

4:27 to go, and Saban’s offense finds the end zone again- B.J. Emmons on a 6-yard carry. The extra point gives Bama a 38-3 advantage.

Late in the game, Alabama Tops finally able to get into the end zone late with 1:14 to play, Drew Eckels connected with Lucky Jackson for a 24-yard touchdown after WKU’s Nick Dawson-Brents recovered an Alabama fumble. Nuss’ PAT was good, which made the score 10-38, Alabama. That would wind up being the final score.

The difference between the two teams can be seen in the stats- WKU had 12 first downs to Alabama’s 23 and 239 yards to Alabama’s 475. WKU had 2 turnovers, Alabama had 1. WKU held Alabama 9-18 on third down. Alabama had 12 penalties for 84 yards compared to Western’s 2 for 16.

WKU tested their depth at QB: Mike White, who had a career performance last week vs. Rice, was 10-24, 135 yards and 1 INT. He left the third quarter walking slowly to the locker room. Tyler Ferguson was 7-10 with 55 yards. Drew Eckels was 2-3 with 26 yards and 1 TD.

Anthony Wales led the Tops in carries with 11 for 44 yards. Taywan Taylor led receiving with 9 for 121 yards including one 59-yarder.

Alabama’s Jalen Hurts in his first career start was 23-36 for 287 yards and 2 TD’s. Kentucky-native Damien Harris led the Tide in rushing with 11 carries for 45 yards.

While the game didn’t go in WKU’s favor, the Tops defense did show some bright spots against a very talented Alabama offense. Alabama showed why they’re the #1 team in the country, and WKU showed they have some fight in them. They are on the road again next week at Miami of Ohio.

Lyndsey Gough

Lyndsey Gough joined cn2 in August 2016 as a reporter for cn2 Sports. Before that, Lyndsey was a multimedia journalist, reporter, anchor and producer at WBKO-TV in Bowling Green, KY covering both news and sports. Lyndsey graduated from the University of Kentucky in May of 2015 after covering the Cats for 3 years for print, radio, and television for various outlets. She is excited to finally be covering sports full-time again here in the Bluegrass. You can follow Lyndsey on Twitter @lgough_cn2 and send story ideas her way.